Peter Laviolette: where does he rank among coaches?

[TheTechNoir]

He's my favorite NHL coach. He's a throwback personality, too. I think when his teams get going, particularly in the playoffs, they feed off his tempo and ferocity. The Preds ability to tear off a 9-2 run to start the playoffs kinda reminds me of how the Flyers did when they figured it out in 2010. They went down 3-0 to the Bruins, and then went 8-1 into the Finals, just got so hot off the big comeback that the Habs just got hit with something they were not ready for.

I also think his Flyers teams played a role in the weird years the Pens had under Bylsma. As much as the Penguins had problems at the top after their '09 Cup, the style of hockey the Flyers played under him was arrogant and hyperconfident, and the April of 2012 (late regular season freakout and playoff fiasco) kinda froze the Penguins up for a bit, he was coaching his team in a way that badly embarrassed and unsettled some of the world's best players, and that series left a scar that only finally cleared up after they fired two coaches and found a great one of their own (and the sorts of breakouts and neutral zone plays that Sullivan's Penguins use are actually...kinda similar to what the Preds do often).

His teams are also extremely hard to kill because they can generate a lot of offense and momentum very quickly. I have some emotional commitment to the Predators, as my girl is a fan and I used to live there, and I have the same calm watching them go down a goal or two now as I used to have when he coached my real team. It's not that you expect them to win every one, you just know that a 2-0 or sometimes even 3-0 deficit for a Laviolette team is a lot smaller than it is for most others.

that sense of security is so nice.
some teams or some match ups... being up by 1 goal and the other team pulls the goalie, you almost legit think it's MORE likely than not that the opposition ties it. just white knuckle and god it sucks when they actually do tie.
then you have some teams where you always feel comfortable and safe whether with a small deficiet or a lead.

 

[tony d]

Somewhere between 5 and 10.

 

[missingjibbsclub]

Guy gets fired an awful lot to be considered a good coach.

 

[ponder719]

Guy gets fired an awful lot to be considered a good coach.

Mike Keenan got fired all the time, and he's generally considered a great coach.

Some coaches are long term guys, who can be parked in one place for a decade or two and mold the franchise into what they want. Other guys come in, whip teams into shape, but they wear on the players quickly and have to move on. Just a matter of personality.

Taking this to another sport quickly, Larry Brown has held 14 different head coaching positions, none longer than five years. However, in those 14 positions, he won an NBA championship, NCAA championship, NBA coach of the year award in a different year, was 3x ABA coach of the year, assistant coach for a gold medal winner, and head coach of the US Olympic team (albeit in a year they won bronze.) He's in the professional and college basketball halls of fame as a coach. Just because he keeps moving doesn't make him a bad coach; it just means he can't park his ass in one place like a Popovich or Auerbach.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

Isn't he 3 wins away from getting every team he coached into finals?

 

[Shockmaster]

Isn't he 3 wins away from getting every team he coached into finals?

He didn't make the Finals with the Islanders.

 

[Drake744]

Isn't he 3 wins away from getting every team he coached into finals?

As mentioned, not the Islanders.

I think he'd be the 3rd coach in history to go to the Finals with 3 different teams but I could be wrong on that.

 

[Cogliano13Gagner89]

For active coaches?

He is in that 3-6 immediately after Babcock and Quenneville, very very good coach.

Babcock? lol The guy hasnt won anything in decade... what does he have 1 cup in 15-16 years as an NHL coach. People talk about this guy likes hes Bill Belichick

 

[Snakepit]

He's been one of my favourite coaches for a while. In the top 5 for active coaches for me, no doubt.

 

[Nickmo82]

And this right here is exactly why I have a hard time ranking coaches. Even a Carlyle coached team is currently in the conference finals (and has won a cup before) right now.

Never mind the treasure trove of clown coaches that won (AKA: fluked their way) the Jack Adams over the last few years. Patrick Roy? (I know people have probably jumped back over the Roy is not a bad head coach fence again, just because of the historically bad season they had after he left), Bob Hartley? (yeah, he won a cup 16 years ago. Spare me), Paul MacLean is another borderline guy.

People actually think Alain ''Tanner Glass is more of a recipe for winning than Pavel Buchnevich'' Vigneault is good, because they see his teams are in the playoffs year after year and even go into the 2nd round frequently and have even made the SCF twice. He's also had the two best goaltenders in the league since the 04-05 lockout backstopping his teams.

And then people always overrate Bruce Boudreau, when in reality, when has Boudreau coached a WEAK roster at the NHL level? WHEN?!

AV is atrocious. Rangers win in spite of him, not because of him.

Luongo/Lundqvist account for how many of his wins?

Laviolette is the best US born coach in NHL history, no?

 

[Marotte Marauder]

Laviolette is the best US born coach in NHL history, no?

Umm, no.

 

[The Shovel Penguin]

I think he's a great coach. In retrospect I think if the Caps had been able to have him instead of Trotz, they might have gotten over some hurdles. Not that Trotz is a bad coach, I just think Laviolette is excellent.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Guy gets fired an awful lot to be considered a good coach.

And look what happens to teams when they fire him / lose him. Coached get fired, often times for reasons beyond their control (easier to fire a coach than trade 5 players).

Ask hurricanes or flyers fans what they think of him.

He made​ the playoffs in both years with an average Islander team, won a cup with a good but not great Carolina team, took a mediocre flyers team to the finals, and is now two wins away from another finals berth with his 3rd team.

The guy has only missed the playoffs twice when he's coached a team for 55+ games that season (he's done that 11 times across 4 different teams) both playoff misses came on a Carolina team that had just won a cup on the backs of older rentals and veterans (Recchi, Weight, Brindamour, Stillman, Wesley, Hedican, Whitney etc) so it's not surprising that they struggled in the following seasons.

In his 8 'full' seasons with the Islanders, Flyers, and Predators, he's never missed the playoffs. His only other miss was in the lock out shortened season. And when you include the Cup in Carolina, he's gotten at least to the 2nd round 6 times in 9 playoff runs, getting to the 3rd round or finals 3 of those times. This is across 4 different teams with varying talent levels, strengths, and weaknesses.

I can't think of a coach with a more impressive resume.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Laviolette is a solid coach, but it's been a while since he's had a run like this. I'd wait until this season is over to really see where he ranks.

But it's tough, Cups seem to weigh heavily for where a coach should rank/does rank. Lavi is a fantastic coach though, his resume speaks for itself. Him and JQ are one of the best coaches in the league and no Babcock does not belong in the conversation with those two. Babs has suddenly gone from being overrated in Detroit to being so insanely overrated, there are absolutely no words to describe it thanks to Leafs fans.

The era where they won a Cup and went to the finals twice?

No, the Leafs were not good despite Babcock. He has been instrumental in the team's culture change, shift to a possession game, and development of the young players. No, he is not a defensive coach who plays a "braindead" grinding game. You really don't know what the hell you're talking about. It's also ironic that you use being a defensive, grinding coach as a negative and yet rank Sutter as the best coach.

But you can't expect much more from someone who ranks Vigneault as a top 5 coach. Go ask Rangers fans what they think of that.

And a lot of Wings fans didn't like Babcock, same with a lot of ex-players. So there's that too, so ease up on the "Guys, he's the greatest" type of sentiment. There was a time when people used to boast about Dan Bylsma as well, when he was with the Penguins and they had great regular season success but tanked in the playoffs. He also has 2 finals appearances and a cup.

See how that can sound ridiculous?

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

He didn't make the Finals with the Islanders.

As mentioned, not the Islanders.

I think he'd be the 3rd coach in history to go to the Finals with 3 different teams but I could be wrong on that.

My bad, but honestly I wouldn't blame him for not taking Milbury run team into the cup finals. They did make playoffs both years he coached them though, so logically Milbury fired fired him afterwards.

 

[howkie]

I somehow deep deep in my heart wished that Nashville would miss playoff, Lavi geeting the boot and Jets would hire him. I think he would be the man to take Jets to the next level...

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

And look what happens to teams when they fire him / lose him. Coached get fired, often times for reasons beyond their control (easier to fire a coach than trade 5 players).

Ask hurricanes or flyers fans what they think of him.

He made​ the playoffs in both years with an average Islander team, won a cup with a good but not great Carolina team, took a mediocre flyers team to the finals, and is now two wins away from another finals berth with his 3rd team.

The guy has only missed the playoffs twice when he's coached a team for 55+ games that season (he's done that 11 times across 4 different teams) both playoff misses came on a Carolina team that had just won a cup on the backs of older rentals and veterans (Recchi, Weight, Brindamour, Stillman, Wesley, Hedican, Whitney etc) so it's not surprising that they struggled in the following seasons.

In his 8 'full' seasons with the Islanders, Flyers, and Predators, he's never missed the playoffs. His only other miss was in the lock out shortened season. And when you include the Cup in Carolina, he's gotten at least to the 2nd round 6 times in 9 playoff runs, getting to the 3rd round or finals 3 of those times. This is across 4 different teams with varying talent levels, strengths, and weaknesses.

I can't think of a coach with a more impressive resume.

Well flyers pretty much went from playing absolutely amazing and fun hockey to loosing in most boring fashion after Lavi was fired. If he was on the market this summer there's no question I would absolutely love him back.

 

[cptjeff]

Nashville players consistently, almost to a man, when asked about Lavy bring up that he's a very good communicator and motivator. They say they know exactly where they stand and what he expects at all times. From what Lavy himself has said he's finally figured out how to not get too high or low and roll with punches more.
He is not the "player's coach" that Trotz was always reported to be, but he is very, very respected in that Nashville dressing room.

I think Lavy finally figuring out how to temper his extremes is what ultimately takes him from very good to great. He's always been an excellent coach, but he's also been an incredibly intense person, and extremely abrasive at times. That resulted in him being able to get great results when new, but wearing out his welcome with both players and management over time. Tempering that a little bit allows him to stay an incredible motivator while giving him more long term sticking power to build his system and to keep the confidence of players who might otherwise react poorly to that personality type.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

He got outcoached by Deboer last year, but adjusted way better than Hitchcock or Sutter did. I'd say all time he isn't that high, but right now probably 3-8 or something.

 

[The Macho King]

Kind of reminds me of Torts. Seems to do really well for awhile, but probably has a relatively short shelf-life.

Edit: Not a knock, btw. I love Torts.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Long been a fan of him as a coach since he coached the Islanders into the playoffs in the Peca days. That was a fun team to watch with a unique set of characters that overachieved. Recall Steve Webb hitting anything in sight. Tough team to play against with Laviolette at the helm.

 

[Armourboy]

I haven't been his biggest fan, mainly because I think he is probably weak on the X's and O's part of coaching. Our 3 vs 3 system ( it's bad ) and his lack of changes when needed during the regular season makes you want to can him at times.

That said, there is no doubt if he makes it to the playoffs he can do some damage. I think this is due to his ability to motivate and his intensity. If a group of players can harness and equal that they set themselves up very well.

TBH he reminds me a ton of Lou Holtz. Yeah it's a different sport, but they seem to be roughly the same style. They are both better at motivating than X's and O's, and it's why they often have gone to new teams and things turned around so quickly. It's also the reason why neither have had long tenures in general at school's or organizations.

 

[GoldOnGold]

I haven't been his biggest fan, mainly because I think he is probably weak on the X's and O's part of coaching. Our 3 vs 3 system ( it's bad ) and his lack of changes when needed during the regular season makes you want to can him at times.

I can't recall exactly, but doesn't one of the assistant coaches run the 3v3?

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Lavi v. Bouch would be a fan's/journalist's wet dream. The systems guy v. the meat and potatoes "yob", so to speak. Hope it happens, and yeha, Lavi might wear out his welcome now and then but there's a total buy-in from his charges, and he's about as solid a human as you an ask for.

 

[Thordic]

Kind of reminds me of Torts. Seems to do really well for awhile, but probably has a relatively short shelf-life.

Edit: Not a knock, btw. I love Torts.

Im surprised it took so long for someone to make the comparison.

Lavi is a slightly less abrasive Torts. Very similar coaches, IMO.